Jasmine and Lemongrass
by Poldora
Summary: A lingering scent filled the halls, peaking his interest and causing him to abandon his work to follow the delightful fragrance. Who was she and why was she here now? A tale of finding a mate. Setting begins in New Moon post Edward leaving. Paul/OC Pairing plus Felix/OC Pairing, probably lots of angst.
1. Prologue

**Authors Note:**

OC Owned by me - Kencil Borja Mendoza, all the rest and any identifiable factors are property of S Meyer.

This is my first time writing fanfiction after reading a tonne so please let me know how you're finding it!

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**Prologue**

The night was cold, the wind blustery and her olive skin reddening just slightly from the icy onslaught. As she walked her mind wandered, how had she managed to get here, how had she managed to be faced with such a monumental decision and why on God's green earth was it snowing in the middle of July?


	2. Chapter 1 - White Lily

**Authors Note:**

OC Owned by me - Kencil Borja Mendoza, all the rest and any identifiable factors are property of S Meyer.

This is my first time writing fanfiction after reading a tonne so please let me know how you're finding it!

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**Chapter 1 – White Lily**

Kencil stood in her silver and gold decorated bedroom, her emotions flat, and reflected in her unripe juniper coloured eyes which stood out beneath heavy lashes and well-groomed brows. Her gaze flicked about, looking for her missing sock as she contemplated the chaos of moving.

After the house fire back in England she'd been told she was too young to live on her own and shipped to her Great Aunt Charis in the small town of Forks, Washington. The flight there had been uneventful, flying from Heathrow, to Iceland, to Portland before arriving at Sea-Tac. Seeing as she had inherited a sizeable amount from the disaster she'd booked herself on a business class flight "Might as well suffer in comfort" she'd mumbled to herself as she pressed the buy button. Kencil hated flying, the weather seemed to agree to her foul mood each time and without a doubt if she woke through the sleeping tablets, there would be turbulence. Her Mother joked it was uncanny but Kencil never found it funny. Now however, she'd give her right arm to hear her Mother jest once more.

That fire stole everything of hers, her life ripped away in less than five hours. Ash covered and broken she'd sobbed over her little brother's body whilst watching firefighters run in and out. He'd been pronounced DOA. Dead on Arrival. The tinny words haunted her, she'd tried, she'd tried so damn hard to get to him, but he'd inhaled too much smoke way before she'd made it. Her body wore the scars of her failure with a rippling of skin across her stomach, back and down the side of her left arm. Second to third degree burns they'd told her in the hospital. Scars for life, skin grafts, tight skin, itching, pain, ooze. The words surrounded her senses, her emotions shut off as she'd laid on her right side for what felt like an eternity. It was the only position in which her skin didn't stick and sting quite so bad. In the end a skin graft wasn't needed but that didn't ease the pain both physically and mentally.

She'd been on a strict routine as she moved into outpatient care, stretching, cool towels, sunscreen, more fluids, no itching, no this, no that. She had four weeks once she left the hospital, alone, sore and damaged to pull herself together and get on a plane. The lawyer who dealt with the will and resulting move to America had taken some pity on the teenager and had gone a little further than necessary to ensure she didn't have much to deal with financially or the overwhelming plans when it came to the funerals and in return Kencil presented a handmade glass snow-globe to the woman with tears in her eyes. Jennifer Jenks had been her knight in shining armour and Kencil only had three things that were precious to her anymore. The two snow-globes she'd made earlier that year, one for her, one for her brother and the family photo she'd ripped from her wall in her haste to throw clothes on and get to him.

Just as quickly as she had slipped into the unwarranted memory; a crack of lightning and rush of thunder brought her back to the present. Her trembling hands wiped away the tears that had begun to flow and she cussed under her breath. "Pull yourself together Kencil. First day impressions don't start with red eyes and self-loathing" Her tone was bitter, and she moved to finish dressing without a second thought on the issue.

By the time she was ready to leave, the sky had shifted to a sombre grey and the storm had faded to light and patchy drizzle. She grabbed her backpack, pulled on her brown knee high-boots over her black jeans and poked her head into the back room where her Great Aunt was undoubtedly knitting or some other casual activity.

"I'm off Aunty" She called through, smirking only slightly as the woman jerked awake again.

"Hmm? Oh.. okay Kencil, be safe on the walk, enjoy, make new friends or whatever I should say" she grinned, nodded and waved her off.

As Kencil shut the door, a light smile on her face she found that she had never been more thankful her Great Aunt was so out of touch with other people that she ended up being awkwardly humorous without realising. Her mood was once again on the happier side of neutral and the short walk to the high school seemed to be just a tiny bit less daunting.


	3. Chapter 2 - Yellow Daffodil

**Chapter 2 – Yellow Daffodil**

Forks High School was… small. So very small. Kencil wandered to the front office with ease and asked for her timetable and map. The receptionist – Ms Cope was pleasant if a bit nosy, enquiring into Kencil's accent and birth town without preamble.

"So dear, that's quite a voice on you, where are you from?" The redhead seemed to buzz with unspoken gossip as she looked her over.

"Warwick... it's near Birmingham I guess, the UK Birmingham of course" The flat tone with which Kencil spoke made it clear that whilst she wasn't being impolite, she also didn't want to continue the conversation. Ms Cope thankfully cottoned on quickly - passing her the documents and pointing out a few oddities about the school before indicating how best to get to her first class, Spanish.

Kencil smiled in thanks and glanced outside; judging the weather to be currently dry but with a common lack of trust in it, she slipped the documents into her weatherproofed backpack and headed out towards where she needed to be. As she encroached closer to the door she needed to enter her nerves bundled into a tight knot, her breathing caught, and a light sweat broke out over her palms. It took a moment or two to calm herself back down, starting with her breathing, before sharply shaking her head, dismissing her thoughts and anxiety the best she could prior to knocking and entering the medium sized classroom.

As expected all eyes were on her in an instant, the teacher included. "¿Hola quien eres?" The middle-aged voice was high but not unkind and internally Kencil cursed herself for not expecting something like this from a language teacher.

'C'mon! Act together K!' She thought briefly before meeting the woman's curious gaze and letting the language she'd refused to use since the fire flow. "Hola, me llamo Kencil. Soy nuevo aquí." Her pronunciation and accent were as natural as possible, thanks to her Dad but it was laced with pain like no other.

"Bienvenida Kencil, por favour, tome asiento. Me llamo Señora Goff" the woman nodded and motioned to an empty seat in the far-right corner near an extremely pale and distant looking brunette. Mrs Goff's eyes seemed to express the concern at both the females and the excited light at Kencil's ability to speak more fluently than expected, dimmed in the few seconds it took for her to take the allocated seat.

The class; to her relief, resumed normal activity quickly and she had a moment to settle in before looking to her desk partner. The female was near catatonic in outlook, glazed eyes, dead hair and a sickly complexion. Kencil frowned, her bitter thoughts creeping in quickly as she studied her for a moment longer, waiting for recognition. When it was clear it wasn't going to be given naturally, she huffed out of her nose impatiently and introduced herself.

"I'm Kencil Borja Mendoza" She watched closely for a flicker of well, anything in the female and after about thirty seconds, the brunette finally tilted her head in her direction, the brown eyes meeting her own juniper ones.

"Isabella Swan but everyone calls me Bella" Kencil had to not laugh as Bella's voice reflected a tone she knew all too well and the resulting expression was one of an almost smile but mostly recognition.

"Good to meet you" she nodded and slowly turned to face the front of the class to partake in her studies with a lacklustre second only to Bella's.

Her first morning at Fork's High had flown by, and at lunch Bella had introduced her to her more enthusiastic group of friends who seemed to embody that word in the loosest sense as they quickly shunned the sickly teen, all focus on Kencil with little to no further thought. Her neutral expression hid the prickling questions building within her, but she was unable to ask any due to the ranging onslaught of the group's.

"Where are you from?"

"Is the accent real or are you faking it?"

"Have you met the Queen?!" This one had her rolling her eyes at a particularly stupid blonde, but it seemed to be a question that enthralled them all.

"No, I've never met the Queen personally. I've been to the palace on a tour once though." She almost enjoyed the disappointment that flooded their faces if it hadn't been for another flashback.

**xXx**

_Loud giggles, a small boy running around in joy._

_"Keyes! Keys come on, stop it!" The voice shouting for him was full of girlish giggles._

_A flash of black hair, a peep of moss coloured eyes as the boy hid behind a fancy armoire._

_"Come out come out, wherever you areeee" the girlish voice was melodic in song with an undertone of teasing._

_Another flash of black hair, distant giggles before a resounding bass. The girl's head snaps in his direction._

_"Little boy you shouldn't stray so far from your..." ruby eyes lock onto the child "Sister" the following sound was one of musing "It might not be safe, go, run". _

_Marble hands motion gracefully, the girl paralysed in discomfort before she giggles brightly once more "Come on Keys lets go find Mum and Dad" she stretches out her arms and the small child bounds into them._

**xXx**

"…Kencil…Kencil?" Someone was snapping their fingers in front of her face and she seemed to return to the present sharply.

"I need to, to go. Sorry" she stood sharply, hoping she wasn't crying but somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew better. Her cheeks weren't burning for no reason after all.

As fast as her feet and mind would work in sync, she found the ladies bathroom and locked herself into a cubicle before letting the grief wash over her, consuming her so completely to the point she didn't hear the other person entering. It took for the unknown female to slide an unopened bottle of water under the stall before she realised and pushed everything she felt down.

"Th-thanks" her voice was watery and briefly hoarse from likely loud sobbing.

Silence answered her for a minute or so before Bella's soft voice spoke out "I know what it's like… to slip into a memory like that. I'm sorry for whatever, you know, hurt you"

She scoffed before flushing warm in guilt "Sorry, yeah. I" she took a deep breath, contemplating for a split second before continuing in a deflated tone "don't want to talk about it but yeah. Thank you for the water." She opened it and sipped a few times, calming her body as well as her mind before standing up and leaving the sanctity of the cubicle.

To her surprise Bella didn't look at her in pity but rather understanding and hesitance. Kencil nodded in acknowledgement and moved to neaten her now ruined mascara and thanked herself for not applying eyeliner today. Bella quietly waited near the bin and door and when Kencil was ready they left in comfortable silence for gym class.

Exercise was something Kencil used to love, she'd jog with her Dad in the mornings and go to military fit or a spin class in the evenings with her Mum most days back home, before. But body rehab and physio had been a bitch. Her back hurt when she twisted, her muscles had fatigued and undressing to redress was an emotional ordeal she didn't need. As she walked into the changing facilities with Bella her mind froze, the layout was too open, the lack of privacy causing her to panic and her eyes betrayed her normal neutral expression.

"Are there cubicles in here Bella?" It seemed the nerves had met her vocal chords in a mighty betrayal, and she grimaced internally.

"Hmm?" she looked up before shaking her head "Only the toilet block downstairs." Kencil glanced at the door they just came through and sighed.

"I'll be back in a minute, though I suppose I best find the teacher first however" Her eyes looked around once more and thankfully Bella once again came to her rescue, leading her to the coach's office at the far end of the adjoining corridor.

"Coach, this is Kencil, she's new" Bella spoke briefly and awkwardly shied away as the male looked up and studied them both. Kencil however looked straight at him and waited for Bella to leave and her slip to be signed before she spoke.

"I need to change in the bathroom… er restroom?" she corrected as the Coach's eyebrow rose in clear confusion. "I hope that won't be too much of an issue." Her chin rose in a brief sentiment of confidence before he shook his head and her resolve weakened.

"No kid, everyone changes together. No exceptions" Kencil felt her rage grow within her, her eyes narrowing, and the tears welled somewhere in the background.

"Coach…" she paused briefly,

"Clapp"

"Coach Clapp, I don't know if my records were given to you. About my… situation and requirements? But I need somewhere private to change and I won't be able to participate in everything all the time" By now, her voice had a nervous tremor, but her resolve had strengthened once more.

"I read the notes, kid but there are no exceptions. If I give an exception to you then you aint getting over it are you? You're hiding it." He narrowed his eyes before smiling "You don't have to participate today anyway, here's your kit and do you have a copy of your physio notes?"

His words had shocked her, and her hands trembled briefly as she took and folded the kit into her backpack. As an afterthought she nodded instead of fully answering his second question and flicked through a small plastic wallet before pulling out a copied document. "These are from four weeks ago. I'm still getting my medical transferred, so I've had to wait before I can have more treatment." Her volume was quiet, barely above mute and her eyes shifted to look anywhere but at him.

It didn't take him long to read over the medical document and he omitted a thoughtful sound once or twice throughout "Seems like it got you good kid, I'm…"

She cut him off with her hand and a sharp shake of her head "Don't, I hear it enough. I don't need an apology I just need to get on with it. Do you do seasonal sports here?" She looked back at him once more, internally praying he'd take the not so concealed hint.

"We do a lot of indoor sport all year round, badminton, tennis, volleyball, basketball and circuits. On non-rainy, warmer days we do hockey, soccer and track outside but that can vary given the constant rain" He studied her for a while "Any of those going to be an issue?"

She considered the range of movements before nodding "Tennis, volleyball and possibly badminton, I might be okay with basketball because it's down, but the shooting might take a while. Circuits depends on what's in it. Hockey is fine unless contact and I've never played, soccer will be fine, track should be great if that's running?" He nodded once, possibly both in confirmation as well as understanding.

"I'll give you side activities, probably with Bella – that girl is a liability in group settings" he tutted but it seemed to be well natured "Right, we best get down to the courts. Tennis today and Kencil – stay out of the way of Bella's swing and general line of missing when you choose a seat" he chuckled and motioned for her to head out before leading her to where they needed to be.

From observing the class, she'd gained an insight into what he meant by Bella and offered her an apologetic smile accompanied by a wince as the clumsy teen took a ball to her head for the second time in a swing that hit Jessica on the arm. Back in the changing rooms, the constant awkward apologies had Jessica in a worse mood and Kencil took the opportunity to break the nightmare scenario up before it got catty and clear her conscience in one quick swoop.

"Sorry about lunch Jessica, I didn't mean to run off like that whilst you all were asking questions." The teen nodded though her curiosity was clear, the forming of a why were bound to be asked in a moment so she jumped to it "Memories" she nodded "As great as they are, they can suck ass from time to time" Kencil attempted a smile but it was weak at best.

"Of course, totally no problem but you totally looked like Zombella back when Edward left" Jessica rolled her eyes, but it didn't soften the sharp flinch Bella made and Kencil noticed it all. As she didn't know what quite was occurring, she nodded and grabbed her things with a polite smile.

"Okay, well, lunch tomorrow still okay?" She was surprised to find herself hopeful of a positive response, but her mind was still mostly on Bella's pasty form next to her.

"Definitely! You didn't answer all the questions after all!" With a teasing tone and a smile, Jessica grabbed her bag and headed off with a quick bye to the remaining two.

Kencil waved and looked directly at Bella, studying her for a while before speaking "Guess that's your damage then?" it was rhetorical, soft and quiet but it was enough to cause Bella to jump before she eventually nodded in a jerky motion. "Okay well" she paused, thinking over her choices, her own preferences before standing "We can talk some more if you ever want to but for now, want to walk with me to the parking lot? I'm pretty sure I know the way out, but it would be pretty fucking dumb if I managed to miss it." She offered a smile, and a clear distraction and Bella seemed to take it gratefully.

They parted ways at Bella's truck after a strong insistence that she was good to walk the fifteen-minute journey to her Great Aunts. The gentle breeze gave Kencil time to think, digest the day before she got back to deal with the emptiness of her bedroom. Fires destroyed and beyond the two trinkets, Kencil had next to nothing. She had barely filled a regular suitcase and ninety percent of it was new and loose clothing. The rest was medication, lotions, and tea bags. Another thing to thank Jennifer Jenks for – the prewarn that the tea here was going to be awful in comparison.

As she arrived at her Great Aunt's she hollered through and headed upstairs to dump her stuff, moisturise her burns and change into more comfortable clothing before heading back down to check on her Great Aunt who would likely be cooking.

"Go okay Kencil?" The woman didn't even turn from the stove and she hummed a yes in response whilst she took a seat at the table "Good, good, decent kids around here. You all good with lasagne cara?" Charis finally turned, likely to check on Kencil's response which in turn was a smile and a nod.

"Sure-thing Aunty, lasagne sounds good to me. How was your day?" She studied the woman, more tan in colour than herself with her mother's Italian routes showing in her warm amber eyes and grey hair with hints of the light amber colour it probably once held. For her age she was remarkably agile, her hair and skin glowing healthily despite the sometimes-ashy quality Kencil attributed to age.

"Good, good, nothing of any happenings but I did knit you a jumper or four. I didn't know what colours cara so there we go." She grinned toothily, the pearly whites jumping out at Kencil as they always did.

"Thanks Aunty, I'll take a gander shortly. Want a tea?" And with that their evening routine began, Charis critiquing the liquid she didn't think resembled what she called 'true tea' and the convincing ramble about herbal being better before dinner was served. Kencil wolfed it down, loving the home cooked meals that were always otherworldly in goodness before starting on her homework. Once this was done, it was time for a shower, moisturising and her physio exercises under the watchful eye of her Aunt before giving her a few cheek kisses and heading to bed for what Kencil could only hope would be a dreamless night's sleep.


	4. Chapter 3 – White Popinac

**Author's Note: **

As usual: OC Owned by me - Kencil Borja Mendoza, all the rest and any identifiable factors are property of S Meyer.

Sorry for the delay on this piece, I've been finding it difficult to separate ideas into segments. I don't want the story to get away with me and things fly by, nor do I want to focus too deeply on something that might be inconsequential and have you all rather watch paint dry. So feedback on the pace is good.

This has definitely had a few re-writes so if it is choppy anywhere I apologise, feel free to point it out!

**Shoutout to Reviewers:**

_leward1992_ \- Glad you like this, I felt it was easier to give readers the basis of knowing Bella and the environment rather than explaining it all again.

_GawkyTC_ \- Thank you so much for your review! I'm glad you're liking it so far and I hope this chapter and any others live up to your expectations!

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**Chapter 3 – White Popinac**

The days flew by with Kencil getting to know her classmates and the town a bit more, she observed Bella grow happier with a few mentions of a reservation kid – Jacob Black and his friends, she heard about her and Jessica going on a trip resulting in motorbike driving with random strangers, she even learnt a bit more about the elusive Cullen family who had caused the pain in the first place. Kencil wasn't sure how Bella was hurting so bad from a breakup, but she assumed it was the loss of the family that hurt her more. She had her parents, but the family seemed to have adopted her at one point or another and she guessed that must have hurt too.

Recently Bella had become more withdrawn however and Kencil grew worried, she'd grown to like Bella and Angela the best. They were genuinely nice people with their own problems but didn't push or nosy in like Lauren or even Jessica. Though, Kencil didn't mind Jessica per say, she just found her a little depthless, nosy and vein but there was nothing out of the ordinary with that and at the end of the day she was a good laugh when it was innocent fun.

Today, Kencil decided to go see Bella, check in on her before things got worse. It was her Aunty's idea – to check in, provide her with some kindness and maybe cookies. She'd agreed of course, where her Aunt's advice was given it was always best to take it and so with the morning flowing into full swing she showered, moisturised and observed her scarring briefly before pulling on a black graphic tee with two llamas and 'Caaaaaarrl' printed on it plus a pair of blue jeans. She braided her long inky tresses into her standard wrap-around Dutch pancake braid and grabbed a hoody before heading downstairs.

"Hey Aunty, are the cookies ready?" she called out down into the backroom only to be met with silence. She shrugged it off, the old woman was likely asleep and so Kencil rummaged around the kitchen before locating them in a container in the still warm oven. "Aunty what the…" she frowned, muttering to herself as the fear of the plastic bursting into flames chilled Kencil to the core.

"Looks like it's gonna snow K" The old woman's voice sounded behind her, causing her to jump.

"For…argh Aunty! Seriously!" The household restriction on 'bad language' was causing Kencil some issues recently "These could have burnt, you realise that, right? It's plastic and the oven is still warm!" Kencil's expression was incredulous, full of obvious hurt at her Great Aunt's neglect. She couldn't… no, she **wouldn't** be able to go through it all again.

Her Aunt seemed to study her for a long while before cracking a grin "I was just coming to check on them, they'd barely been in there a minute, just enough to keep them warm before you came down. You fret too much cara. Let the past go or it'll haunt you forever and trust me, forever is a long time" she tutted and shook her head before moving into the kitchen and filling the kettle up. Kencil couldn't breathe. She'd just brushed it off, the old bat had brushed aside the fact her whole family bar her were dead. With trembling hands, she grabbed the container and left, unable to say anything to the woman.

Thankfully the walk to Bella's was uneventful besides the ridiculous amount of snow. It rarely snowed in Forks and the neighbours were out in hoards, revelling in the icy downpour whilst Kencil slowly stopped feeling quite so numb on the inside. By the time she reached the Swan residence however she was numb on the outside.

Bella answered, her expression curious and hesitant until she realised who the visitor was and ushered her in quickly.

"Jeez Kencil, you're crazy, what are you doing out in the snow?!" Bella looked her over before pulling her into the living room and motioning to the small fireplace. "Want a drink?"

Kencil laughed and nodded in response "Sure, do you have hot chocolate? I think something warm would be useful" she grinned and held out the cookies "Here, for you."

The cookies were taken with a moment of hesitation, but it earnt her a genuine smile of appreciation before Bella disappeared to the kitchen. In the time it took for the hot chocolate to be made, Kencil had taken off her puffer jacket and snow boots, plus the knitted grey hat and gloves her Great Aunt had made her the day before. She gratefully accepted the cocoa and used the mug to warm her hands as she sat down.

"So, wanna talk about what's got you all 'Zombella' recently" she used one hand to make the jesty quotation marks, lightening the mood with Jessica's terrible nickname. Bella seemed to react as expected, staring at her hot chocolate for a long while and by now Kencil had learnt to wait the silence out.

"It's Jake. He… he stopped returning my calls, his Dad won't let me go see him and yeah, that's well. It." She watched as Bella seemed to crumple in on herself, the oversized sweatpants and hoodie not doing the poor girl any favours. Kencil was just about to offer standard words of encouragement when Bella began again "I also saw the bears… or well, they're wolves I guess. They're huge and they were- "she shut down. Kencil watched it, the voice literally left her, her mouth shut tight. What in the world was going on with Bella Swan.

"Bella…?" she left the question hanging in the air, the need for information clear in the unspoken elephant. She watched as Bella's eyes tracked back and forth across the carpet in front of her before she finally met Kencil's gaze.

"None of it is my secret to tell but I'm going to explode if I don't. Do you believe in the…" she paused, looking extremely uncertain "supernatural?" She almost whispered the word and Kencil took a moment to think. On one hand she wanted to laugh but there was a part of her mind which had never denied there was almost more to a picture than when you first looked.

"I guess I don't disbelieve" she spoke finally. "I don't know so much about green aliens from Mars but some other things don't seem too farfetched. Why?" She studied Bella once more, the sickly translucence had crept in a little more over the past few days and it took all her consciousness not to frown in disappointment and concern whilst she waited.

"There's an old reservation Quileute legend about cold ones. Jake asked me to remember it, to explain something else and I just… I don't understand. He said, it was a long time ago but that in our world are cold ones, the natural enemies of the wolf, or rather men who…" she trailed off with a flash of understanding "werewolves. Fuck!" she rolled her eyes and then looked up at Kencil in alarm. "fuck." Bella said it with such finality that Kencil was almost lost.

"Uhh Bella? I think I'm going to need more than cold ones and werewolves. I'm really confused though you seem to have had an epiphany" Kencil raised a dark eyebrow with a soft smile. Whilst she was truly lost, Bella looked better, still sickly but there was a sense of determination that had all but been lost before.

"I think I'm going to have to explain later, I really need to go see Jake. Is that okay, do you want to come with?" The conflict was clear on Bella's face and Kencil considered her options for a moment.

"Only if it's not going to impede on a chat you need to have, I can go back to Charis' if you need to you know, speak to him alone?" She passed the ball back into Bella's court, genuinely unsure as to what the right answer was.

Bella simply shook her head and stood up motioning for her to follow, Kencil stood, still clearly hesitant "So…?"

"Oh yeah, you're cool to come. I'll drive come on" Bella smiled, the new-found determination clear on her features and Kencil took it as a good sign.

Within minutes both teens were bundled up and, in the Chevy, blasting heat as Bella drove them to the La Push Reservation. The snow had since stopped falling and the sky was one of those picturesque pure blues, not a single cloud giving it an icy yet soothing appearance much like the snow itself. They pulled up to what Kencil later knew to be Billy Black's house and approached the door before Bella knocked on it and it was less than a minute before the old man opened it up. His expression was one of hesitance and uncertainty until he took a double look at Kencil.

"Your Great Aunt is going to have my left arm for this" he grumbled and motioned them both inside. "You girls want anything to drink?" The hand not on his wheelchair wheel motioned to the kitchen and both shook their heads. Kencil looked at Bella, waiting for her to speak.

"I know what he is Billy so where is he?" Kencil had never heard Bella sound so confident but she was more confused than ever. She was sure her expression mimicked that because when Billy noticed her features he relaxed.

"Asleep but he'll be up in twenty so come, let's have you pair sitting whilst we wait" he nodded at the sofa, Kencil sat before Bella did, taking the space closest to the door. Billy's eyebrow raised at her, and she glanced down at herself in introspection. It wasn't like she could audibly say she was uncomfortable but her presence screamed it. This man knew her Great Aunt, knew her even and yet she hadn't the slightest bit of knowledge about him beyond his status as Chief and Jacob's father.

She took the time whilst Bella and Billy caught up to glance around slowly. She'd be raised to not pry or gawk but there was something about this place that just felt so… homely. The outside was painted red and the inside had been left in the natural wooden browns. The windows were narrow, and the living room was small and very square until it joined the hall and off set kitchen that included a small dining space. Kencil's eyes moved to look at the decorations on the walls, the family nick-knacks that everyone but her seemed to possess. They settled above the small fireplace gazing over what looked to be a family portrait. Billy, a woman he was looking at in adoration, two almost identical girls no more than five or six and a baby boy. It was the family who lived here, and her right fingertips slipped just underneath the hem of her t-shirt to trace her scars subconsciously. Kencil fought herself to blink back away the tears and focus on the conversation, it was an easy almost Uncle and Niece vibe and it didn't take long for her to put her thoughts back in their box.

"… Oh, he's good Billy, I've got him eating a bit healthier than before I guess" Bella was obviously talking about her Dad, she assumed and flicked her attention to Billy catching his dark eyes for a moment before glancing down again.

"Good, good. Don't need him dropping down before I have the chance to beat his last fish weight, you should have seen it Bella…" The deep voice rambled on, the discussion of fishing lost on Kencil. Thankfully for everyone, Jake didn't take too long in wandering out to see what the noise was, and it took every bit of her consciousness not to let her jaw drop. This? This was Bella Swan's 'friend'?!

Kencil's off green eyes travelled over him, the abs, the gorgeous Quileute tanned skin, the height, dark hair and eyes. If she hadn't been so firmly in control, she'd have blushed through her own darker skin with ease. Bella on the other hand looked like a tomato, clearly she hadn't seen him topless before. She looked her over, and found she was unable to suppress the giggle that slipped out at her friend's new shade of skin, it earnt her a glare but that didn't help the humoured expression.

"Jake, outside, now." Bella snapped, her finger pointing to the door. The tone had Kencil and Billy's eyebrows shooting up in amazement and the beautiful male could do nothing short of following her instructions, looking like a dog with his tail between his legs. The thought brought another smile to Kencil's lips before she suddenly realised that whilst she waited, it would be just Billy Black and herself. Alone in this house that screamed of an entire life lived within it. Treasured within it. Her fingertips fluttered against the puckered, ruined skin once more.

As if Billy could sense her trepidation he smiled warmly before speaking "Let's get you a glass of water?" he nodded, giving her the perfect excuse to leave the room for a few moments and she gratefully took it. After obtaining herself a glass and some tap water she leaned back around the corner, gazing into the living room.

"Can I… uh get you anything whilst I'm up?" She winced with her own awkwardness "I know it's your house, and you can probably do everything and uh anything…" she began to ramble, unable to stop once she'd started until Billy rose his hand with a fond, familial smile.

"Can you make me some tea? Camomile if you know how to work the herbs in the strainer?" His voice was as warm as his expression and Kencil relaxed, returning the ongoing smile with one of her own and a nod.

"If I hadn't learnt by now Aunt Charis would have had my ass in five flat" she grinned before finding her way around the kitchen and brewing the drink to her Great Aunt's standards. As she walked back into the living room and sat, Billy turned his attentions from the TV to her.

"Thank you Kencil" he nodded, taking the cup and a slow sip with his eyes shut "Just as good as Charis'. She's taught you well" his compliment made her smile once more and bit by bit she found herself more relaxed than when she first arrived. "You know your Great Aunt was one of my closest friends when I was your age, even though she was still a good bit older?" Kencil just rose her eyebrow at his words, sipped her own tea and waited for him to go on. "She taught me a lot of things, supported me when I took the mantle of being Chief, was there during all the ups and the downs" She didn't miss his slow glance at his family portrait, but she didn't mention it either. He had an almost storytelling voice on and she was interested to hear more if he'd share. She realised as he began talking about how they met and how Charis berated him about the lack of tea brewing skills that she didn't know much about her Great Aunt at all.

"… and then she told me that if I didn't marry Sarah she was going to find her Dad's cane and whoop my 'arse'" he put on an almost English accent for the last word and Kencil giggled once more.

"I noticed she speaks more Queen's English when she's mad than at any other time" The words were quiet but with a well humoured tone behind them and it seemed the old man agreed with her assessment, chuckling in his response. As the pair fell into a half comfortable silence, Kencil glanced up at the clock, her surprise morphing her features.

"They'll be in soon kid, I'm sure." Billy's voice brought her expression back into a much calmer, masked one and she nodded.

"I hope so, Bella is my ride back" she smiled politely "and as much as this has been great Billy, I'm pretty sure Charis might have some choice words about me getting stranded with a family I barely know" she offered an apologetic smile, but she was right. She didn't know the Blacks even if they knew of her. Billy understood, of course and nodded before wheeling himself to the back window and frowning deeply.

"You might need to go out and intervene kid but before you do, I'm sorry. Charis isn't going to be happy about what you're going to see in a few minutes, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy Bella is on yours and her radar." He seemed to notice her growing anxiety, his tone a mixture of what sounded like depression and sad resolve as he talked and motioned her to the door. Kencil didn't think twice, she rounded the small house and skidded almost to a stop in the icy field.

In front of her stood four, giant wolves. Two near the tree line, one larger than the rest and black in colour, the other dark brown with dark grey around the eyes. The two much closer to Bella however were circling, dangerous in outlook, snipping and growling. One was russet brown, the other almost silver in the grey tones and gorgeous in its swift movements. In an instant the sky rumbled with thunder, the clouds dark and all the wolves, plus Bella looked at her. The anger coursing within her was great, what in the fucking world was going on?! How was Billy so calm, so dejected about asking for her help, why was Bella not running or screaming, why weren't these wolves moving towards her or even eating them? As her mind raced and her eyes travelled over the scene in front of her, the adrenaline forcing the fight response seemed to waiver before dying off resulting in her legs and mind giving up. Whether in fear or exhaustion, she didn't know, only that the ground was approaching her face and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

* * *

**End Author's** **Note: **

Of course, this was Kencil's first encounter with the wolves. I've tried to stick to their colourings, any issues let me know!

Feedback is always treasured so definitely drop some in if you have thoughts, good or constructive.

Going to try keep myself on track and not let the plot run off too badly with me, I may add more tags etc in advance however but just because they're there does not necessarily mean they will happen, just potentials.

Thanks for reading 3


	5. Chapter 4 - Black Striped Carnation

**Author's Note:**

As usual: OC Owned by me - Kencil Borja Mendoza, all the rest and any identifiable factors are property of S Meyer.

A quick apology is needed, it wasn't meant to be delayed this long whatsoever but as you'll see the story seemed to get away with me and I needed to consider the direction it was going to head. I spent a good week fleshing out the overall plot so rest assured there is order in the chaos and this is still a Felix story in the end. It's just going to take a while to get there, a whole heap of angst I'm sure and probably some lemons with other characters. You'll understand more as we go. I've updated the tags to help better reflect what's happening within this story. I'll also be adding some warnings as we go as I've been made aware the flashback to her finding her brother may have triggered a few people.

So without further ado the chapter

_Warnings: Anxiety Attacks and Burn Scars._

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**Chapter 4 – Black Striped Carnation**

Kencil came to in a set of arms, a set of very _muscular_ arms that belonged to a tanned male. He smelt of pine cones, earthy goodness and something else she couldn't quite place. Her head was pounding, and her body was tensed tightly. She flinched as she sensed where one of his hands was, his right gripped her thigh as part of a bridal hold, but it was his left that was causing issues. It was gracing her scars without realising and the thin t-shirt provided little to no barrier against the searing warmth. A whimper slipped from her lips and she struggled to move out of his grip in an attempt to stop the prickling sensation spreading, the first sign of her anxiety being brought forth.

"Stop wriggling woman" the tanned male's voice was gruff and almost sneer like in tone but Kencil barely heard him. Her vision had tunnelled, her heart was pounding, and her skin had broken out into a cold sweat. She was slipping, slipping into her memories, ears ringing, throat filled with a smoke like never before. It was heavy, suffocating and outside of her mind one hand gripped at the column to stop the feeling of choking, whilst the other was pressing against him, but she was lost. Lost to the nightmare that was her past. Tears streamed down her cheeks from her rapidly flickering eyes and her breathing had become a series of sharp inhales before she passed out once more.

"…-at caused that?"

"dunno man, but it was- "

"-up, it's not our- "

"…damaged…"

The voices cut in and out, males mostly though one was female. Kencil had no idea where she was and instead of appearing awake immediately she took a second to recall. She'd had a massive panic attack in the arms of a topless native. Her cheeks burnt with embarrassment and it seemed the colour fought through her complexion and gave her up.

"Kencil, are you… are you okay?" It was Bella, Bella was safe. Kencil slowly opened her heavily lidded eyes, looking the female over before casting her gaze around, trying to settle herself. She was on a sofa, it was large, brown in colour and a worn leather. The house was built of wood, one wall exposed so she was likely still on the Reservation. She blinked once, twice, and felt the memories crush in of what she'd seen, the panic attack and what caused it, and she swallowed. Four Quileute males stood looking at her and the bile rose. She had to run, she needed to find outside before she threw up here.

Clearly one of them sensed what was happening and held another back whilst motioning to what she presumed was the way out. She pegged it, her tight skin roared in protest, but she wasn't going to throw up in a stranger's living room. The fresh air hit her as she moved as fast as she could, thanking her physiotherapist internally as she made it just to the treeline before everything came up.

The cold sweat and exhaustion of vomiting washed over her as she sat back on her calves. Her hands rubbed at her face whilst her body trembled. Kencil didn't know how long she had sat there for but eventually Bella sat beside her.

"Want to come back in? One of the guys wants to hose this away – the smell" she added at the look Kencil gave her. Bella's tone had been soft, like she was talking to a being made of fragile glass and that if she rose it, the glass would shatter. Kencil almost snorted at the thought, she wasn't fragile, normally. Clearly, she'd been with her thoughts too long as Bella seemed to be glancing back and forth from her to someone behind them with an expression of quiet panic.

"Are you going to freak out if I pick you up again?" It was the male from before and Kencil tilted her head only just perceptively in his direction as he spoke, taking a second before nodding and attempting to stand on her own. His hand appeared just inside her field of vision and she took it gingerly. She had no burns on her hand, but she still flinched at the warmth for a second before tightening her grip. It reassured them both it seemed, and she was on her shaky and half dead legs in a few seconds. The man led her back inside, Bella hovering behind them with an odd expression.

Once inside the house Kencil's anxiety rose once more, what must she have looked like? The man squeezed her hand, she took it as a reassuring sign and looked up at him. She couldn't meet his eyes, but she did mumble her thanks. As they entered the living room she looked at each of the large males and noticed a female half behind one of them too.

"I'm really sorry about all that" Her voice was a lot quieter than normal and her guilt combined with embarrassment was clear in her tone.

"It's okay, seems like you got the shock of your life after all" It was the female, whilst she remained half hidden, her voice was strong. Kencil paused, thought back and shook her head just slightly.

"It's not every day you see giant wolves but uh… that wasn't- "she motioned loosely to the sofa then the hallway to try to allude to her point. Another reassuring hand squeeze and she offered a slight smile but once again didn't raise her head to man.

The room was silent for a moment and Kencil almost physically squirmed in discomfort.

"Names! You big oafs, have you even introduced yourselves?" The woman stepped out at this point, her scowl almost motherly in nature and her hands were firmly planted on her hips. As each of them shook their heads and had the right sense of mind to appear guilty, she tutted and turned directly towards Kencil. "I'm Emily Young" she offered out a hand and Kencil shook it with her free one, it seemed the male next to her didn't want to release her right, so it became an almost awkward gesture.

She smiled warmly, her own expression not skipping a beat as she took in Emily's scars, in fact she noticeably relaxed, "Kencil, I'm really- "

She was cut off by Emily's hand "No, no more apologies now, whilst these giants introduce themselves and apologise to you, would you like a drink or something to eat?" The woman radiated warmth and homeliness. Kencil nodded, looking uncomfortable for a moment before speaking.

"Something sugary and warm, tea or hot chocolate if that's okay… and could I also have an ice-cold glass of water? I don't mind if it's literally all ice. Sorry" Her fingertips slipped under her t-shirt hem, ghosting over the flesh as she glanced back down at the wooden floors.

"Of course! We always have ice in because Jared likes to eat the stuff" Emily rolled her eyes and headed off to what Kencil presumed was the kitchen It took a few more moments before Kencil glanced at the males, observing briefly where they were sat and stood in various parts of the room.

She smiled at the one she recognised as Jacob and then the others spoke in turn "I'm Sam, Samuel Uley, Emily's fiancé. This is my house". The male was roughly 6ft 6 with the natural Quileute tan and some serious muscles. His eyes were a warm brown, his hair cropped and black. He held up a hand, stopping her before she could apologise once more "Don't worry, you had a shock and then whatever else. You've responded pretty normally and I'm glad you're awake"

"and not looking so green" the slightly shorter, leaner male to the right of Sam spoke up with a cheeky grin. "Jared Cameron" His hand shot out and Kencil glanced at the one stood beside her. He didn't seem to be letting hers go for whatever reason and whilst she quirked her brow, she didn't let go either, just awkwardly shook with her left.

"I'm glad I'm not so green too." She chuckled, finally beginning to relax. All eyes turned to the one holding her hand and she finally took him in for the first time. He was taller than Jared but shorter than Sam, his copper skin was free of blemishes besides the odd scar here and there and encased an impressive amount of muscles. Her eyes travelled up and she smiled. All four of them could easily have been cousins. Black hair seemed to be the rage along with mahogany eyes. It was the noses and jawlines, she thought to herself, that separated them. His looked like it had been broken a few times in the past.

"Paul Lah-"His voice died off as she finally looked at his mahogany set, the smile still gracing her lips. It quickly disappeared however as he seemed to freeze entirely. She tore her eyes from his and looked at the other males for an indication of what the hell was going on but wasn't met with any answers, just Jared's smirk, Jacob's eyeroll and Sam's critical gaze. None of which were directed at her but at Paul. She sought some sort of anything from Bella, but she seemed just as confused and so Kencil turned back to him.

"Paul…?" The question was left ambiguously in the air and she waited for what felt like an eternity.

"Lahote, Paul Lahote" He sounded raspy, his expression was guarded whilst also relaxed and Kencil could do nothing but squint slightly as she studied him. After about thirty seconds she pasted a smile on and nodded.

"Well it's good to meet you all, though I didn't realise we were doing surnames. Mine's a goddamn mouthful" her laugh was cheery "Kencil Borja Mendoza" she rolled her eyes. Her name was compounded, or double barrelled because of her heritage. Her mother was of a long lined Italian descent and her father Spanish in origin. Uncommonly for British standards her surname listed her father's then her mother's following the Spanish traditions.

"That kinda is a mouthful, how come your Great Aunt doesn't have either of those surnames?" Jared piped up, his grin infectious. Kencil took it upon herself to sit again and as her hand was in Paul's she tugged him to join her. She really did need to figure out why he wasn't letting go – did he think she was going to have another episode? She couldn't help but cringe internally before returning to the question.

"Honestly, I'm not sure. Aunty Charis is one of a kind though. She's been in and out of my life, my whole life. She's definitely Italian of some sort so she'd be a Mendoza or of similar but different European countries have different name practices. For Spanish based countries you take the first surname of both your parents with your Father's first. Women normally keep their whole name when getting married, but I think my parents Anglicized in a way, they both changed a bit of their name legally to match each other. It made it easier when they passed the names down to me… and my brother." She took a deep, shaky breath whilst squeezing Paul's hand subconsciously before looking up and pasting on a forced smile. "I don't think I could change my name now, not after…" she trailed off once more.

"Good fuckin' luck when you marry then" Jared snorted, Paul growled and Kencil burst into laughter.

"That's a fair point, imagine that" she finally grinned "Kencil Borja Mendoza Smith or some shit because I'm stubborn enough to never change the others out." she laughed a good bit, not noticing Paul's jaw clenching to her right.

By the time Emily returned with her two drinks the laughter and general chit chat had died down. Kencil thanked the woman with a much more relaxed expression and lilted tone before tugging her hand out of Paul's, her voice quieter than usual as she spoke.

"As much as your furnace hand has helped loads, I kinda need to hold my drinks Paul" she offered a polite smile, studying him unabashedly as she waited for the words to register and her hand to be released. The motion seemed reluctant at best and she couldn't help but let her smile widen. She accepted the glass and mug and shuffled to get more comfortable.

Across from her Bella had settled into a large armchair, talking quietly to Jacob who sat on the floor next to it. Kencil observed she wasn't wearing shoes any longer and set about finding a place to put both cups before removing her snow boots. Instantly, Paul's hands were outstretched, and another smile crept onto her lips. She passed him the mug and set the glass down to her left before kicking off her boots and shuffling happily back. Her legs were crossed under her and so she bent at the waist to collect her glass unthinkingly.

The sharp intake of breath and growl emanating from the right caused her to freeze mid motion. Her shirt had ridden up. Kencil's juniper eyes went wide as she realised what he could see, her expression that of a deer in headlights and she shot into a proper straight back position almost instantaneously before tugging at the back hem. Paul appeared to be shaking, violently and Sam had moved from his seat to Paul's right.

"Out" The voice from the taller male was commanding and directed entirely at Paul. The mug was placed on the floor and both jogged out of the house. Kencil deflated as they disappeared, her posture slumped, and she glanced warily at each glass. Both were completely out of her reach without another slip up.

"Bella," she paused, taking a second with her eyes shut to breath in and out, steadying her tone before attempting to speak again "Bella, would you mind if we headed back into Forks soon. Charis isn't going to be very happy if I'm out too much longer." The wavering tremble was still there but she was trying, and Bella was kind enough to just nod without questioning further before pulling on her shoes.

Kencil cast an apologetic glance at Jacob who appeared a little more than put out at her interruption and then tugged on her own shoes. "Fuck, my gilet is still at Billy's" she grimaced and frowned, her hand on her forehead. "I'll go grab that first I suppose"

Bella gave her a slightly gone out look before talking "K, we didn't drive here. Paul carried you the whole way. We've got to walk there regardless" Kencil stopped her motions, a deep frown clear.

"How far away is Billy's?" She glanced towards the hallway, trying to remember what she'd seen during her sprint.

"Like ten maybe fifteen minutes, nothing crazy" Bella seemed a little uncertain so Kencil simply nodded and put back on her neutral face.

"Well let's get going. Jacob, Jared, it was you know – eventful" she laughed "but it was nice meeting you both. Though, small tip, get some goddam shirts. You're both going to cause some old biddy a heart attack" she grinned, shamelessly flirting before heading into the kitchen with her two cups. "Sorry Emily, I've got to go, and Bella was my lift, I didn't take too much of a drink, but the hot chocolate truly was to die for" she offered her a warm smile and Emily seemed to nod in understanding.

"I hope we'll see both of you girls again soon, I get swamped with the boys way too often" It was clear from her tone that she adored the 'boys' as she called them like a mother would her children. Kencil couldn't help but nod, she genuinely liked Emily. She was easy to be around and aside from the various events of the day, she thought she would like to see her once more.

"We'll definitely try" Bella answered for them both at Kencil's nod and then the pair headed out towards Jacob's house. Why he wasn't joining them was Kencil's first topic, but Bella cut in first.

"So, you have to keep it a secret, okay?" The paler woman was insistent and Kencil answered with confusion.

"Keep what a secret? And not in the jokey sense"

"The pack, the wolves, you know" she motioned back at the house and Kencil just shook her head

"What do giant wolves have to do with anything Bella, you're not making any sense?" Her expression remained confused, her brow furrowed.

"Kencil, you're kidding right? You saw shape shifters. Paul, Sam, Jacob, Jared – they were, are the wolves. There's Embry too but he was patrolling" She had lost it, surely? Kencil took a second, swallowing the laugh that wanted to burst free at the ridiculousness before really thinking about it.

Those wolves, they were huge, and the men were also abnormally tall. The eyes, each were the same brown, but the furs were different. How could she explain the behaviours though? She'd watched a whole lot of David Attenborough and others whilst in hospital recovering. Two weak looking female humans for wolves that big? Surely, they'd be a snack or at least something to toy with, yet they weren't hurt.

Bella waited patiently as Kencil thought behind a mask of neutrality. It wasn't long before the pieces mostly clicked together, and a quiet "fuck" slipped out. Bella nodded knowingly and the pair walked in silence the rest of the way.

Billy was at the door when they returned, both girl's coats in his lap and a grimace on his features.

"Kencil, your Great Aunt rang" Kencil winced and prepared herself "she told me in no uncertain terms that if you weren't home by 6pm she was going to take that left arm I mentioned. So here," he passed up the garments "Get driving but be safe with the ice" he nodded, and they smiled gratefully in return.

Within minutes they were in the rusted Chevy, heat blasting and on their way back.

Kencil was met by her Great Aunt at the door at precisely 5:59pm. "Looks like that old fool can keep his arm, inside you" she motioned in and Kencil nodded, entering quickly and with a small smile.

She wasted no time in stripping off her outer-gear the minute she entered the furnace. Charis kept things at a warm 25C whenever it snowed and 21C the rest of the time. It was almost unbearable but Kencil guessed the woman was colder now she was older or something.

"Cara you need to learn to call me if you're going to be late, I nearly drove myself to the Reservation and I'm getting too old for journeys like that!" Whilst her Great Aunt might have been scolding her, she'd used Kencil's pet name and therefore she was sure it wasn't too serious.

"I don't have a mobile, Aunty. And anyway, who would I call beyond you?" Kencil half shrugged, her tone slightly bitter. She'd lost contact with her old school friends back in the UK when after the first few weeks the visits stopped and the ones who came back did so out of obligation or sheer pity. She couldn't stand pity.

Charis appeared to take a moment at her words before sliding a box over on the table. It was a newish looking iPhone and Kencil raised a thin brow in question.

"No more excuses cara, you'll be there more often now I imagine so take it with you at all times and use it freely. It doesn't cost much. We also need to get you driving, you're too dependent." She nodded firmly and Kencil knew the conversation was actually one-sided dictating. She didn't mind much. Charis did things like this from time to time and Kencil had adjusted to accept, arguing did nothing but delay the inevitable. "Now, homework, I'll have dinner ready in an hour and you can catch me up on your day. Oh, and take a shower. You smell like dog."

Kencil's heart thudded in alarm but she betrayed nothing externally, just nodded and headed upstairs to hose down. She'd done all her homework, so she prepared herself a bath whilst using the separate shower to clean first.

Charis' home was quite large, especially upstairs and it was clear the woman loved the bathrooms the most. All bedrooms were en-suite, and the downstairs had a pretty decent set up too. Kencil's bathroom had a large, freestanding bathtub that was a very modern rectangular shape and could fit two people easily. There was also a separate large square shower with both waterfall features overhead and a smaller manipulative head lower down. The toilet was normal sized but was heated overnight and the sink was huge.

After losing her own home the way she did, it was hard for Kencil to face a bath for many months. Seeing everything in such clear lighting and with the heat of the water, it was a bad combination. Charis helped her with this, her Aunt brought her some bath oils and melts without any non-natural scents or irritants. The one Kencil picked out of the basket today was her favourite - Jasmine infused milk melt. The others consisted of lemongrass, oats, milk or unscented oils.

Once she had finally relaxed into the just warm water, her thoughts wandered to recap the day and it didn't take long for the tears to flow freely. She'd passed out twice, once over wolves who were men and once over her stupid recap. Just as she'd begun to work through her mortification, she thought of Paul and cried some more. She knew her scars were unsightly but his response? It was flat out of order. Paul had been the first person aside from her medical team and Aunt to have seen the ruined skin and that's what he'd done. Shook, growled like an animal and ran. She didn't understand why she'd expected more, but she did, and it had hurt more than she anticipated when she didn't get the response she'd needed.

Eventually she calmed down again whilst listening to the pitter patter of rain on the skylight and began to doze just briefly. In the short dream she saw Paul as both man and wolf, over and over, each expression from the day repeating. As she woke, her hand rubbed gently over her chest, fingertips tracing the taut skin familiarly. Her burns were slowly becoming part of her, less angry, less jarring, at least to her own eyes. She viewed them in the full length mirror most days. Looking at the puckering from hip to collarbone in a triangular shape. It was worse around the dead centre, the flickering of flames caught her in a band of hell from her belly button to two inches below her sternum. The charring had been slightly less towards her hips and only her left breast had been caught in the cross flames. Thankfully; in a way, she'd thought to over her chest with her left arm and so it took a good bit of the burn.

As she slathered in the moisturiser she viewed each inch of skin, checking the healing progress and cataloguing changes. She never understood why her legs hadn't burnt, something about the pyjama bottoms and height of the flames, the doctors and firefighters had mentioned but she didn't recall the exact reason. Kencil eventually shook her head clear of the remnant thoughts and shrugged on a light blue, long sleeved top and a pair of jogging bottoms before grabbing her slippers and heading downstairs for dinner.

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**A/N: **Reviews are always welcome, favourites and follows too. This is likely to be a longer story and I do have vague plans of working within my own AU, taking a few existing and a few new characters on some new paths in their own entitled works. For a clearer explanation of the surname thing I've mentioned, look up surnames on wikipedia and then click Spanish-Speaking world. If they had kept to tradition Kencil's name would have been the same but her Dad's would have been [First Name] Borja [His Mother's Surname] and her Mum's would have been [First Name] Mendoza [Her Mother's Surname].


	6. Chapter 5 - Purple Hyacinth

**Author's Note:**

As usual: OC Owned by me - Kencil Borja Mendoza, all the rest and any identifiable factors are property of S Meyer.

Sorry for the delay on this one, my muse ran off in a different direction - at least there might be a few unrelated one shots soon?

* * *

**Chapter 5 – Purple Hyacinth**

**:-:**

Dinner was a homemade lasagne, one of Kencil's favourite comfort foods. Her Great Aunt was an amazing cook, and an even better judge of bad day. When the familiar smells encompassed Kencil's senses she couldn't help but smile.

"Thanks Aunty" She sat at the table, watching her aunt move through the open kitchen before dishing her up a plate. As she slowly ate, her Aunt watched like a mother with a fussy child, the need to ensure all was eaten overwhelming normal table manners. Kencil had grown used to this odd behaviour and put it down to the fact that when she'd arrived she had been skinnier than normal, worn and tired.

"So cara, what happened down at the Res?" Charis' quiet but authoritative tone shook Kencil from her swirling mind and she met the old woman's amber eyes whilst shrugging.

"I met some people, had a panic attack, passed out twice and threw up" Kencil couldn't help the scrunch of her nose and sudden focus on the plate in front of her as she recalled the train wreck of a day in distaste.

"Sounds pretty eventful." Her great Aunt grew silent with the passing statement causing her to squirm in her seat. She was being baited, she knew but there was something about the pause and her Great Aunt's reluctance to let things go that always resulted in Kencil spilling her guts.

"It was" Her tone was defeated as she began to delve in more detail "Billy seemed nice, he told me a lot about you from when he was younger, I barely met Jacob – Bella accosted him as soon as he reappeared." She paused, thinking through her words before continuing, she knew she couldn't directly lie to her Aunt, but she couldn't spill a secret that wasn't hers to give either. "I also met some of Jacob's friends, Sam Uley, his fiancée Emily, Jared Cameron and…" she hesitated, his name on the tip of her tongue burning her with sadness "Paul Lahote". Kencil could barely whisper his name without wanting to burst into tears again.

"Come on cara, what did that foolish man do?" Kencil's chin was tilted up and she fought to blink away the tears as she met Charis' eyes once more.

"He… he saw my scars Zia" She choked on her words, the Italian slipping in unwarranted as she relived the moments "I bent at the hips whilst… whilst sat and my t shirt rode up" she took a steadying breath but the tremble in her tone remained. By now the tears flowed down her burning cheeks and it took all of her control not to burst into sobs. "He ran zia, he ran from the sight, he…" she couldn't do it anymore, her composure broke and she let the body wracking shudder dominate her frame.

Charis silently moved to hug the sobbing teen, and whilst the growl that emanated from the old woman was quiet, Kencil still picked up on it. Unlike Paul's earlier in the day, this one she took comfort in. She let herself be soothed by her Great Aunt and when she was all cried out, slowly withdrew.

"Sorry for crying all over you Aunty" Kencil rubbed her cheeks free of tears and glanced down at the floor.

"Now now, mi cara, don't be silly" Charis stroked her hair softly. "How about you get an early night, put today behind you and move forward with a clear mind and step tomorrow?" Kencil simply nodded in response, kissed her Aunt's cheeks and headed up to bed.

The silver and gold familiarity brought a sad smile to her lips. She'd stepped away from the various shades of green her previous room had held, unripe juniper for her, moss for her innocent brother and a murky sage for the near identical colour of her parent's eyes. Though the colour shifted close to hazel at times, her best memories were when their eyes were an almost burgundy tinged sage. Now however, she sought cleaner colours. Gold to remind her of her family crest, the sun, all things warm that she had to learn to love again and silver for the moon, stars and the cold that she loved to revel in.

Charis had given her a decent budget for redecoration and with it Kencil had brought herself a huge and slightly firm queen-sized bed, complete with six feather pillows and a duck down duvet. That in itself had been a palaver and she'd ended up ordering one from the UK to suit her needs and preferred tastes. The bed frame, base, wardrobe, cupboards and all other furniture was black to fit in with her theme, each item had a small accent piece for the gentle splash of silver and gold that made it all slot together. She found herself growing to love her room more and more as she settled into it and Forks as a whole. It was her sanctuary.

Before throwing herself into what she considered the perfect bed, she neatened up her trinkets, kissed her snowglobe with a sharp stab of nostalgia and rummaged through her wardrobe and draws for tomorrow's outfit. Whilst she'd already been free to dress in non-uniform for school back in England due to her age and subsequent year, she'd not been expecting the lack of formal clothing when she first arrived. Here, you could throw on a pair of jeans and a ratty hoody and no one commented. Back at the college attached to her secondary school, they'd been expected to wear smart casual items, with blue jeans relegated to Friday's only. The change had been welcomed nonetheless as it ensured Kencil could wear more flowing items without suspicion and after the day she'd had, it was back to longer and baggier tops and jumpers.

After searching for what she wanted, she placed a pair of blue skinny jeans and a faux patchwork jumper over the back of her desk chair. It was a particular favourite of hers, the colours were beautiful, one off-angle square being a pigmented cerise, another a cerulean blue, the third a homely cream and the last a charcoal grey. The neckline was a high boat, the sleeves were just slightly longer than needed, falling to mid hand and the hemline fell well below her hips, covering half of her ass in the process and ensuring no one would be able to see her marred skin if she bent forwards so carelessly again.

She nodded at her choices and quickly picked out a matching set of plain black underwear. Most of her bras were unpadded soft cotton or polyester without underwire, she hated the lack of support and lift but with her scars she couldn't stand the irritation of wire. The designs however were often cute and more triangular in shape. As she stood in front of her choices she sighed once more, she missed the way she used to dress, high waisted jeans, crop tops, tight dresses. She missed the simpler pleasures, a padded bra, lace, the feeling of hands on her skin as the tighter layers were shed revealing the Ann Summers specials. She missed the contact, the flush of passion, the way arching didn't hurt, the way someone could actually _want_ what she had to offer. She'd loved her body, that was the almost harsh irony of what happened. She'd finally got herself to where she wanted to be, her chest was a full D cup, her hips and ass were curved and plump respectively, she'd finally managed to lose some weight and tone up as well, so her stomach was flatter with the natural curve from her previously pierced belly button to her pubic bone. Her arms had begun to show the muscles she'd gained, and her thighs were firm and beginning to look more toned than ever. Then the fire had happened, the bed rest, the physio, the lack of range in movement. She snorted and shook her head, bringing herself to the present and out of her narcissistic reflection. Without a second thought she stripped off, placing her barely worn pyjamas on her ottoman and crawled into bed.

:-:

It not even been half an hour since she'd clambered into bed, with the dulcet tones of a documentary narrator failing to encourage sleep like normal when she heard a sharp clink sound against her window. If she'd been closer to sleep, Kencil would have probably jumped out of her skin and woke fully, as it was – she was already awake and so she simply moved to her dense silver curtains as silently as possible before pulling one back ever so slightly in a way that would hopefully keep her hidden as she peaked. At first, she saw nothing, then stepping just out of the treeline was a topless native. She squinted her eyes, trying to get a better view before her heart practically stopped in her chest. Paul. Paul fucking Lahote was in her back garden, throwing stones at her window like a trashy teen romance film. Kencil felt her rage grow as she moved away from the window. What in the fucking world was he doing?

_Clink_

Another pebble. Kencil ground her teeth briefly before grabbing her lilac silk dressing gown, throwing it on and pulling back the curtains. She was sure her bed hair and fury was a look like no other but she didn't care, she quickly opened the window to hiss at her unwanted guest.

"It's fucking midnight, what in the hell do you want _Paul_?" She practically sneered his name, her upset from earlier in the day morphing to anger as she stared down at him.

"To… to apologise" Was he nervous? Kencil squinted at him, his voice had trembled, and he seemed uncertain, it didn't suit him. She didn't speak for a moment, just remained squinting at him until he spoke again. "I was an ass, I'm always an ass but I shouldn't have…" He trailed off and she genuinely didn't have anything to say, she was unsure as to what he'd say next. "Look, can I come up?" His mahogany eyes looked up into hers and she was briefly taken aback.

"I… Charis will kill me. Plus, the alarm is set downstairs so I can't, can't we just, you know talk tomorrow like normal people?" Kencil was almost surprised by her own want to talk to him, to hear what he had to say but she refused to let him see that on her features.

To further said surprise, he shook his head and made a weird motion with his hand "Step back and open the window a bit more?" She could only raise a brow in response before doing exactly that in reverse order. Astonishingly he was inside her bedroom before she could fully begin to question what he was going to do and the strangled sound she at his appearance made only served to make him laugh.

"What the actual fuck." She sat back onto her bed, slightly shocked and gazing over his form. "You scaled the building? To apologise to a girl you hardly know, at…" she glanced to her clock "at ten past midnight on technically a Friday morning?" Kencil pushed a loose curl back as she processed what was going on to the best of her ability. "Oh Dio" She looked upwards before motioning for Paul to sit on the desk chair whilst she repositioned herself in her bed, throwing the quilt over her legs and tucking it under her armpits to cover her barely covered body. It was a moment too late when she realised the desk chair held her clothes, her underwear on top and there was nothing to do but roll her eyes at her own embarrassment.

Paul thankfully didn't say anything out loud, but his smirk spoke a thousand works, Kencil looked at the now closed window – at least he was courteous in that sense and waited for him to start talking.

When he didn't, she glanced back at him. His huge frame almost looked silly in her modest desk chair if it hadn't been for the way he suited her accent colours perfectly. He was warm like the sun, but the silver shone a new quality, a link that she'd not fully put together yet. "You were the silver wolf, weren't you?" Her question was quiet but the sudden change from silence seemed to catch him unawares. Paul nodded and she smiled softly, she enjoyed getting things right.

"Why are you here Paul? Really." She looked him over, her expression a mixture of neutrality and guarded hesitance. After a minute or two he began talking.

"I'm a fuck up Kencil, and I fucked up in true Lahote style." His statement was accompanied by a mean glare, but it wasn't directed at her, that much she knew. She remained quiet as he continued talking. "I didn't mean to jolt like that but when… When I saw…" he started to freeze up, a slight tremble rolling across his body and Kencil looked away. She stared at the night sky outside of the window and set her face and tone to pure neutral before looking back at him blankly.

"it's hideous, I'm hideous. I know." He went to interrupt her, and she held a hand up, stopping him before continuing "I get it, alright? No one wants to see this shit, don't worry I doubt I'll be on the Res much, I don't sunbathe, I'll remember baggy jumpers if I am there – you won't have to see it alright? Just forget it happened." She turned to look back out at the distant stars, begging herself internally to keep it together, to calm down and let him pass it off as nothing before leaving.

"Look at me." His voice was heavy with an emotion she couldn't place but she couldn't turn. If she saw pity or disgust, she'd lose her barely put together composure.

"Paul it's okay, you're forgiven, you only acted like anyone would when seeing burn scars. It's fine, just go." She continued to stare out, wishing she was anywhere but here as she blinked a few more times than necessary to keep the tears at bay.

She didn't realise he had moved until she flinched at his searing warm fingers cupping her chin. She fought the turn for a moment before she gave in to his urging and looked up into his eyes. Kencil was surprised to see they were as glassy as hers.

"Woman, I swear to Taha Aki you're so stubborn headed. I'm trying to apologise for being an ass and you're not letting me." She began to interrupt him once more and he placed a finger over her lips. "Shush, seriously." She nodded briefly and felt silent. "I was angry, not because you were scarred, because something had hurt you and I… I wasn't there to stop that." She went to talk again until he gave her a look of incredulity. "I know it's unreasonable, it clearly was before I met you but there's things you have to know and when you do it'll make a bit more sense okay?" It felt like he was searching her eyes for something and she slowly nodded. "There's a bonfire- "She flinched, hard and shook her head vehemently.

"No. No thank you" Her chest heaved with sharp intakes of breath as she thought about open fires, her eyes glazed, and she squeezed them shut in a last-ditch attempt to stop the panic in its tracks. It wasn't this that helped her however. It was Paul. He had placed his hands on either side of her face and spoke deeply.

"Kencil, shhh stop, please. Come back to me?" The words were a mixture of feverish need and authority. Her eyes blinked open, wide in shock and frantic anxiety as she took stock of him. "That's it, sorry, it was silly – I didn't think" He murmured, glancing down at the quilt cover. She could see his guilt, his sadness across his features and she brought a slightly trembling hand up to his cheek. His russet skin was smoother than she could have imagined, and a slight girlish gasp flew out unwarranted as she relished in it. Their eyes snapped together once more, and she smiled weakly.

"I'm sorry I'm so broken." Her words were practically a whisper, but he was close enough to hear. He of course, shook his head in response and she laughed a little, but it was devoid of any joy. "Paul, you don't get to decide my whole status. I am broken, a little on the outside and a little on the inside. Thank you for apologising and I'm sorry too," he rose a questioning eyebrow at her, his head cocking gently to the left "For the panic attack in your arms when you'd so graciously offered to carry my heavy self." She forced a jokey smile onto her lips, but it didn't reach her eyes and she was a fool if she thought he didn't notice.

"Kencil, I'd do anything, be anyone for you. Carrying you? No problem, being here, difficult but no problem." His eyes searched hers briefly "You mean so much to me already and I don't know how to explain it without sounding like a nut job" His murmur was only just audible, and she frowned.

"I've known you less than an hour total if we count only the time in each other's presence Paul. You can't be that attached because of some scars." She trailed off, her fingertips were still gracing his cheek as she spoke, and her eyes followed her touches. "I'll come… to the bonfire" His eyes snapped up from wherever they'd wandered off to whilst she'd been distracted with his luscious facial features. "If you promise me a few things- "

"anything" Kencil laughed softly at the way he sounded like he was going to trip over his own tongue to answer so fast.

"Firstly, I need a bucket of water next to me, just… just in case. Secondly, I don't want to feel the heat of it so I'll need to sit quite far away, thirdly you're too warm so if you touch me and I don't know about it – I will freak out. Lastly, I need to know when and where to try clear it with Charis. If she says no, then it's a no." She slowly withdrew her hand and sat back slightly as she waited for his answer. As she looked up from her lap, she saw he was nodding eagerly.

"All totally possible Kencil, I promise it'll be fine, I can't wait for you to meet everyone" He looked so happy, she couldn't help but smile, regardless of the inner panic at the thought of the fire. She needed answers, he'd alluded to too much, he made her feel things she didn't know she could so quickly. She actually cared about something for the first time in a while and it felt _good_.

"Okay… so when is it?" She smiled briefly and reached for her new phone. Opening the calendar app, she prepped an entry.

"Tomorrow, well technically today, at six" He smirked and motioned for the phone. She raised an eyebrow but passed it over all the same. Kencil watched as he moved around on it a bit before passing it back on the contact list. She recognised the names, Charis, Sam, Jared, Jacob, Embry, Bella and Paul. Considering she'd only put Charis' and Bella's in she laughed softly. "If you can't get a hold of me, one of the guys will pick up and let me know you called or whatever, you know – just in case" His tone was nervous, and she smiled once more.

"Thanks Paul. I don't know why but… it feels good, knowing I can message or call you" She scrunched her nose and glanced out of the window for a second as her cheeks flushed with the realisation she actually wanted to talk to him.

"It feels great knowing you might just do that" Her breathing hitched as his tone seemed to deepen into a husky gravel. She looked him over, a brief flash of uncertainty filling her features as she tried to make heads or tails of his mood change. At his smirk, she blinked back into neutral and nodded.

"You know, some of us have school to get to tomorrow" She looked down at the phone before back at him "So as much as this has been all levels of confusing and what not, I think you need to get going or I'll look like trash by six." She watched as his eyes travelled her hair, face, neck, and lightly covered chest appreciatively before reaching the quilt that had now pooled around her waist and only then did his gaze flit back up to her juniper orbs.

"I doubt you could look like trash if you tried" His voice was gravelly once more and she did everything in her power not to squirm under his sudden intensity.

"Okay, out" She tripped over the words and motioned to the window with wide, bambi like eyes. It was too late for this abundance of sexuality to be on her bed, speaking like that, after staring like that. Fuck. She was so confused.

He chuckled and stood before leaning down to kiss her forehead so quickly that if the brief tingle hadn't stayed behind, Kencil would have thought she'd imagined it. After he left, she scrambled out of bed to shut the window and draw the curtains before pressing the back of her hands to her burning cheeks.

:-:

Just what in the world had happened?

* * *

**N/B**

Once again super sorry it took so long, I've got so many ideas swirling around this noggin right now, some but not all include:

\- Mary Queen of Scots being a vampire turned by Nostradamus (following a sort of Reign theme but Twilight universe bit AU of course)

\- Jasper finding his true mate in a girl Pavlov'ing herself into being happy

\- Peter and Char turning a near dead, abused human

\- Pack sister imprint on Bella story, possibly Bella/Paul pairing (God I love me some Paul)

\- Bella/Paul one shot

\- Bella/Caius one shot

\- Bella/Marcus one shot

\- and so so so many more.

If there's any you particularly want to see, any others not mentioned but you'd think you'd like to read feel free to comment/dm me! I'm putting some detail on my profile here and on AO3 about my normal Twilight AU styles which might assist!

Oh and as always reviews are my gold dust and provide a sense of commitment to continue for purposes other than I want this story told *damnit*

That and no beta as of yet so all grammar and spelling is my fault and word not being an AI assistant yet! ;)

Thanks for reading!


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